Page 188 of Playing Dirty
“Like what.”
“Like you’re trying to understand them before they talk.”
I paused.
“That’s not intentional.”
“That’s what everyone says about their worst habits.”
That made me look at him properly again.
He wasn’t teasing.
Just stating it.
Then—
he took a sip of his drink.
Leaning back slightly.
Still too close.
Not enough to matter.
But enough that I noticed.
LUCA
“I’m guessing you’re not from the loud-people category,” he said.
“What category is that.”
“You know,” he said. “The ones who fill space just to hear themselves in it.”
“That sounds like you.”
He laughed.
“Fair.”
We stood there for a moment.
No pressure.
No expectation.
Just presence.
That was when I noticed him looking past me.
Not at me.
Behind me.
Like something else had his attention more than the conversation.
I didn’t turn.
